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Expelled

It was one of the scariest words a high school senior could think of, and it kept ringing in Thea Harrand

"This," Grander seat, "is your last chance You do realize that, don’t you?"

As the driver pulled the car to the curb, she went on "I don’t knohy you got thrown out of the last school, and I don’t want to know But if there’s one whiff of trouble at this school, I’ive up and send both of you to your Aunt Ursula’s And you don’t want that, now, do you?"

Thea shook her head vigorously

Aunt Ursula’s house was nicknaray fortress on a deserted loo every o there

In the backseat next to her, Thea’s cousin Blaise was shaking her head, too-but Thea knew better than to hope she was listening

Thea herself could hardly concentrate She felt dizzy and very untogether, as if half of her were still back in New Ha the look on his face that ain

But this tiet the way the police car outside kept flashing red and blue through the s, or the way the s, or the way Randy Marik cried as the police led hi Triulanced sideways at her cousin

Blaise looked beautiful and deadly, which wasn’t her fault She always looked that way; it was part of having sray eyes and hair like stopped smoke She was as different froht fro the her

After all, they’d been raised as sisters And the sister bond was the strongest bond there was to a witch

But we can’t get expelled again We can’t And I know you’re thinking right now that you can do it all over again

and good old Thea will stick with you-but this tiot to stop you

"That’s all," Gran said abruptly, finishing with her instructions "Keep your noses clean until the end of October or you’ll be sorry Now, get out" She whacked the headrest of the driver’s seat with her stick "Hoe boy with curly hair who had the dazed and beaten expression all Grandh Lady," and reached for the gearshift Thea grabbed for the door handle and slid out of the car fast Blaise was right behind her

The ancient Lincoln Continental sped off Thea was left standing with Blaise under the war coh School

Thea blinked once or twice, trying to kick-start her brain Then she turned to her cousin

"Tellto do the sa twice"

"You knohat I mean"

Blaise pursed her lips and reached down to adjust the top of her boot "I think Gran overdid it a little with the lecture, don’t you? I think there’s so us about I mean, as that bit about the end of the htened, tossed back her mane of dark hair and s to the office to get our schedules?"

"Are you going to answer my question?"

"Did you ask a question?"

Thea shut her eyes "Blaise, we are running out of relatives If it happens again-well, do you want to go to the Convent?"

For the first tied, sending liquid ripples down her loose ruby-colored shirt "Better hurry We don’t want to be tardy"

"You go ahead," Thea said tiredly She watched as her cousin walked away, hips swaying in the trade the buildings with their arched doorways and pink plaster walls She knew the drill Another year of living with the that she was different from everybody around her, even while she was carefully, expertly pretending to be the same

It wasn’t hard Humans weren’t very smart But it took a certain amount of concentration

She had just started toward the office herself when she heard raised voices A little knot of students had gathered at the edge of the parking lot

"Stay away froroup, being inconspicuous But then she saas on the ground beyond the curb and she took three startled steps until she was looking right down at it

Oh how beautiful Long, strong body broad head and a string of rapidly vibrating horny rings on the tail They wereshaken

The snake was olive green, ide diamonds down its back The scales on the face looked shiny, alue flickered so fast

A rock whizzed past her and hit the ground beside the snake Dust puffed

Thea glanced up A kid in cutoffs was backing away, looking scared and triumphant